To Talk Is A Free Action
by LeonaWriter
Summary: His support group must have a draw for ninety-year old super soldiers. He could have done with the first visit being less conducive to a heart attack, though.


Steve was off in who knew where doing who knew what – some kind of mission, or operation, though. They'd been rebuilding SHIELD from the ground up, but its authority over the Avengers was now a non-entity. Stark was funding it all now – and Sam still found it hard to believe he'd been introduced to _Iron Man, _of all people.

Who was, not coincidentally, also half the reason why he was in between wings right now. He'd wanted to check them out, see if he could upgrade them. The other half of the reason was that they'd been damaged – _again_.

Not that the fact that he was temporarily grounded inconvenienced him all that much. After all, he still had an important role to play in his civilian life in between helping out the Avengers and helping Steve track down that dangerous friend of his.

There were some new faces in, today. Two men and three women who were closer to the middle, and one guy at the back who was wearing a dark hoodie and a hat, hands hidden. Sam didn't stare, even though something was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

_Someone here is dangerous_, that feeling said. And Sam Wilson had been around a lot of dangerous people. The gut feeling only really showed itself any more at _this _level when things were as bad as… well, whatever Steve and the others were fighting right now.

He started up the group with the same speech he gave every time there were new faces. An encouragement to say whatever they felt comfortable with, nothing more and nothing less. A subtle hint that this wasn't some kind of mission de-briefing. The idea that they could use a real name, or something they just plain liked being known by.

But overall, the impression he wanted to give across was that this place was _safe_. To talk in, at least. He wasn't going to try convincing anyone there weren't any physical threats when not all that long ago, there'd been HYDRA bringing the battlefield to DC itself.

The meeting only seemed like it went slowly. When he looked at the clock from time to time, it wasn't taking as long as his mind said it was. He blamed it on the still-present feeling of a metaphorical gun trained on him.

_Danger_._ Get out. Now_. And the feeling wasn't going away. It frayed at his nerves.

Sarah told the group her name. She told them that she'd been in the TA before moving over to America, a sergeant. And now she'd lost the ability to drive. Motorbikes, she was fine with. Cars, though – she had panic attacks.

Pete told everyone about how his problem with knives was getting better. Everyone smiled, and they were supportive, knowing that it was just one step, but each step in itself was important.

The man at the back didn't speak for the longest time. When Paulie remembered he was there, and turned back to him, a part of Sam wanted to shout _stop, no_, but his mouth was dry.

He noticed now what his nerves had been telling him, and forced himself to relax. A glint of metal was visible between the main pocket of the hoodie and the sleeve. He made his eyes slide off of it, instead focusing on Paulie, and then Bernie, and eventually the Soldier's – _Bucky's_, Steve's voice said to him in his head, sounding disappointed – hat, although simply for the impression of looking. Not to see what was underneath, at the face.

Bucky shrugged.

"I-" the voice came out hoarse, but the other vets were accepting of the idea that he was probably just out of service. Still not used to the idea of integrating. PTSD.

They just didn't know how _true_ that all was.

"My name is… James."

Well, there was a start. At least he could say there was a _chance_ this wasn't just creepy stalker behaviour, and he'd get out of this alive.

"For the past- a long time. I've thought I was doing the right thing. But now… I don't have anyone to answer to. And the first time I failed a mission, that was the first time I felt like I'd done the right thing."

He didn't notice himself let out a heavy breath.

"It's like the world's gone upside down." That was Pamela. She was a strong woman, and gave across the impression that nothing could phase her – but she'd seen her platoon get taken down, and been the only survivor. "We were told 'orders are orders', but without them…"

Bucky leaned back. Sam took the assumedly more relaxed position as a positive sign, but didn't know for sure.

The rest of the group began to discuss the points brought up without the one who'd inspired them in the first place, which seemed to be fine with Bucky himself. Sam carefully – _very_ carefully – guided conversation and steered it away from anything too sensitive, either for Bucky or for any of the others.

In the middle of the others leaving, he never noticed the Winter Soldier disappear.

On the one hand, he wondered who'd cursed him to live in interesting times, because running support sessions with the damn _Winter Soldier_ was going to make 'interesting' into the understatement of the _century._

On the other hand, though… he was relieved the guy was going _somewhere_ for help. Even if he was underqualified and so incredibly not Steve.

Then again, he didn't need to be. He figured that out a few weeks in, when he'd got comfortable with the fact that Bucky wasn't going to be trying to kill anyone there. He just needed to do what he did with everyone else.

And then when Steve dropped in on a session and the other guy was still there – yeah, things got a little tense for a moment. The temperature must've dropped a fair few degrees.

But then Bucky – 'James' as he called himself here, and as he introduced him to Steve in case one of the most recognisable faces was seen to call one of his anonymous guys by a _very_ familiar name – just pulled aside an extra chair. Halfway across the room, but still.

Maybe they could work with this.

...

AN: I _really_ wanted more along the lines of 'Bucky sneaks into one of Sam's sessions'. Also, although I'd seen something like it before... once or twice, I didn't see one where Bucky would state only _vaguely_ what happened, so that it could have been something anyone had done.

I have a vague idea of a follow up, but that'll be for when I'm not more than half asleep (as I was when I wrote most of this). I just like the idea that Sam becomes known as this great listener in the 'superhero' world, attracting the weird, wonderful, and downright terrifying.


End file.
